HVAC balancing and optimization systems

ABSTRACT

Certain aspects of the present disclosure relate to a system including a first active control device, comprising: a flow control element; one or more sensors; a network interface configured to connect to a mesh network; a memory comprising computer-executable instructions; and a processor configured to: execute the computer-executable instructions; receive local sensor data from the one or more sensors; receive remote sensor data from a remote sensing device; control a position of the flow control element based on one or more of the local sensor data or the remote sensor data; store the local sensor data and remote sensor data in the memory; and transmit the local sensor data and the remote sensor data to a second active control device via the mesh network.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/357,163, filed Mar. 18, 2019, which is now issued as U.S. Pat. No.10,859,282, which claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 62/645,058, filed on Mar. 19, 2018, the entirecontents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference.

INTRODUCTION

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to heating, ventilation, andair-conditioning (HVAC) balancing and optimization systems.

HVAC systems are deployed in many different types of structures, such asresidential and commercial buildings. In many cases, an HVAC system willhave a heating (e.g., furnace) or cooling (e.g., air conditioner)component that conditions air for many rooms or other spaces within abuilding. For example, a single home may have many rooms, but only oneHVAC system to control the temperature of all of the rooms in the home.While efforts may be made during design and installation of the HVACsystem to balance the output of the system in all of the rooms servicedby the HVAC system, often the HVAC systems will still produce uneventemperatures in different rooms. This may be due to, for example,unequal airflows to different rooms, differing geometries andcharacteristics of different rooms (e.g., location of the HVAC vent(s)),different run lengths between the HVAC equipment and the vents, and thelike.

Mechanical design of conventional HVAC systems is not the only challengeto achieving even temperature distribution throughout different spacesin a building. Ambient conditions with respect to the building, such assunny or shady sides of the building, may exacerbate existing uneventemperature distributions throughout the building. Even more, regularactivities within a building, such as closing and opening doors,cooking, taking showers, opening and closing windows, and others mayfurther yet exacerbate the uneven temperature distribution throughoutthe building. Uneven temperature distributions may cause the HVAC systemto work harder than it needs to otherwise, which may lead to prematurewear of components and higher operating costs.

Certain systems exist to try and improve the distribution of heating andcooling throughout a building. For example, static dampers may beinstalled to affect air flow rates to different air flow outlets (e.g.,vents or registers). However, static dampers by their nature cannotaccount for dynamic activities in a building, such as those describedabove.

As another example, electronic dampers may be installed to affect airflow rates on a more dynamic basis. However, such systems tend torequire standalone processing systems to control the dampers. Forexample, such systems may require a central “hub” and a sufficientnetworking system to maintain constant communication with eachelectronic damper, as well as in some cases a connected “cloud”application to provide commands to the hub. Without a centralizedcontrol system for such systems, the electronic dampers are no betterthan the aforementioned static dampers. Further yet, such systems areexpensive, have significant power requirements, and requiretime-consuming and complex setup procedures that are beyond thecapability of an average HVAC system user.

Accordingly, what is needed is a system for HVAC balancing andoptimization that can address the shortcomings of existing solutions.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Certain embodiments provide a system including a first active controldevice, comprising: a flow control element; one or more sensors; anetwork interface configured to connect to a mesh network; a memorycomprising computer-executable instructions; and a processor configuredto: execute the computer-executable instructions; receive local sensordata from the one or more sensors; receive remote sensor data from aremote sensing device; control a position of the flow control elementbased on one or more of the local sensor data or the remote sensor data;store the local sensor data and remote sensor data in the memory; andtransmit the local sensor data and the remote sensor data to a secondactive control device via the mesh network.

The following description and the related drawings set forth in detailcertain illustrative features of one or more embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The appended figures depict certain aspects of the one or moreembodiments and are therefore not to be considered limiting of the scopeof this disclosure.

FIG. 1 depicts an example HVAC balancing and optimization system.

FIG. 2 depicts additional optional aspects of an HVAC balancing andoptimization system.

FIGS. 3A-3D depict different views of one example of an active controldevice.

FIGS. 4A-4E depict different views of another example of an activecontrol device.

FIGS. 5A-5E depict different views of another example of an activecontrol device.

FIG. 6 depicts an example method that may be performed by an activecontrol device.

FIG. 7A depicts an example active control device system diagram.

FIG. 7B depicts an example sensing device system diagram.

To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have beenused, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common tothe drawings. It is contemplated that elements and features of oneembodiment may be beneficially incorporated in other embodiments withoutfurther recitation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the present disclosure provide a heating, ventilation, andair conditioning (HVAC) balancing and optimization system. Embodimentsof the HVAC balancing and optimization system described herein may beused, for example, in any structure in which an HVAC system is present,such as a home, an apartment, and other residential structures, as wellas commercial structures, such as office buildings, stores, and thelike.

Aspects of the HVAC balancing and optimization system described hereinmay be used with a wide variety of HVAC systems, including forced-airheating and/or air conditioning, radiant heating system, split-units,heat pumps, electric or gas wall or baseboard heaters, portable andwindow-mounted units, combinations of the aforementioned systems, andothers as are known.

Embodiments of the HVAC balancing and optimization system describedherein may include a combination components, including, for example,active control devices, sensing devices, and interface devices inwireless communication with one another (e.g., in a mesh data network)and operating without the need for a centralized controller (e.g., ahub) or external control service (e.g., a remotely hosted application).

Elements of an HVAC Balancing and Optimization System

Embodiments of the HVAC balancing and optimization systems describedherein may include a mesh network of devices that monitor environmentalconditions and adjust active control devices to balance and optimize anexisting HVAC system.

A mesh network is a local network topology in which the networked nodesconnect directly, dynamically, and non-hierarchically to as many othernodes as possible and cooperate with one another to efficiently routedata to and from clients. This lack of dependency on one node allows forevery node to participate in the relay of information. Mesh networksdynamically self-organize and self-configure, which can reduceinstallation overhead. The ability to self-configure enables dynamicdistribution of workloads, particularly in the event that a few nodesshould fail. This in turn contributes to fault-tolerance and reducedmaintenance costs. Because HVAC balancing and optimization systems mayinclude components spread widely throughout a building (e.g., sensors invarious rooms, interfaces with existing HVAC equipment, active dampersand vents in various places, and the like), a mesh network is abeneficial topology for communicating data amongst the systemscomponents.

Components of the HVAC balancing and optimization systems describedherein may include one or more data communication capabilities, such aswireless data communication equipment to communicate via wirelesscommunication protocols, like Bluetooth Mesh, Wi-Fi, Thread, or othersas are now known and later developed. For example, HVAC balancing andoptimization system components may be configured to automatically join amesh network using a Bluetooth mesh protocol or another mesh wirelessprotocols in an FCC approved transmission band.

HVAC balancing and optimization systems described herein may include oneor more active control devices configured to actively affect the amountof heating or cooling applied to a given space. Generally, an activecontrol device may include a flow control element. For example, the flowcontrol element may comprise a movable damper to control the amount ofair flow through the active control device. As another example, the flowcontrol element may comprise a valve to control the flow of a cooling orheating liquid flowing through the active control device, such as into aradiator. As yet another example, a flow control element may comprise anelectronic circuit configured to control the flow of current to aheating element, such as a may be found in in-floor or baseboard typeheating systems. Notably, these are just some examples, and others arepossible.

In some implementations, active control devices may also include asensing element, which may include one or more local sensors. Forexample, a local sensor, such as an air flow sensor may measure air flowthrough a duct or vent, a fluid flow sensor may measure fluid flowthrough a radiator, a gas flow sensor may measure gas flow through avalve to a burner, and a current flow sensor may measure current flow toan electric baseboard heater.

Active control devices may also include environmental sensors, such astemperature sensors, pressure sensors, humidity sensors, air qualitysensors, volatile organic compound sensors, or toxic substance sensors(e.g., carbon monoxide sensors, carbon dioxide sensors, and radon gassensors), flammable gas sensors (e.g., propane, methane, and naturalgas), and others.

In some implementations, active control devices may be powered by anonboard power source, such as a battery or capacitor. The onboard powersource may be charged by an energy harvesting device, such as a devicefor converting kinetic energy into electrical energy (e.g., a fan,turbine, or impeller), a device for capturing solar energy, a device forcapturing wireless energy (e.g., radio frequency (RF)), a device forcapturing thermal energy, and others. In other implementations, theactive control devices may be powered by existing low voltage or mainsvoltage power systems.

In some implementations, active control device include a processor forrunning software to manage the active control device. The processor mayalso be configured to collect data from local sensors and share it withother active control devices via the mesh network.

Further, the processor in an active control device may be configured tostore data regarding its flow control element status (e.g., a damper orvalve position setting, or other flow setting), data from its localsensing element(s), and data from other active control devices that areshared on the mesh network. In some implementations, an active controldevice may maintain a data log, or database, or other data repository,comprising data regarding its own condition and sensors as well as dataregarding other active control devices and sensing elements in the HVACbalancing and optimization system.

HVAC balancing and optimization systems described herein may alsoinclude one or more sensing devices.

For example, sensing devices may include environmental sensors, such astemperature sensors, humidity sensors, air quality sensors, volatileorganic compound sensors, or toxic substance sensors (e.g., carbonmonoxide sensors, carbon dioxide sensors, and radon gas sensors),flammable gas sensors (e.g., propane, methane, and natural gas), etc.Sensing devices may also include motion or occupancy sensors.

In some implementations, sensing devices may be paired to one or moreactive control devices, such as when the active control device andsensing device are in the same room or same general area (e.g., on oneside of a room having more than one active control devices). Similarly,multiple active control devices may be paired to a single sensingdevice, such as when the sensing device is located in a position betweenthe active control devices, or in a location that is affected by theactive control devices (e.g., the center of a room having multipleactive control devices).

In some implementations, a sensing device may automatically pair to anactive device, for example, based on proximity. In otherimplementations, the sensing device may be paired to an active deviceusing a near field communication (NFC) process. In yet otherimplementations, the sensing device may be paired to an active deviceusing an application configured to interface with the HVAC balancing andoptimization system, such as an application running on a portableelectronic device.

When initially paired to an active control device, a sensing device maybe programmed with a unique identifier (UI) as part of a low-levelencryption aimed at preventing cross-system interference and erraticcontrol (such as in an apartment building or condo complex wheremultiple dwellings are within RF system range).

Once paired, the sensing device may be placed in, for example, alocation within a room that is representative of the typical temperatureexperienced by occupants in that room. For example, the sensing devicemay be placed at an intermediate height in the room representative ofthe height of occupants of the room, and may be placed away fromwindows, doorways, electronic equipment, active control devices, orother sources of temperature fluctuation.

Active control devices may receive data from sensing devices and makethat data accessible to the software run on the active control device.The active control device may likewise share the data from pairedsensing devices with other devices on the mesh network.

HVAC balancing and optimization systems described herein may alsoinclude one or more HVAC interface devices, which may also be referredto as HVAC system monitors.

In some implementations, an HVAC interface device may interface directlywith the control electronics of an HVAC system, such as a control board,control module, control circuit, control printed circuit board, controlprocessor, control ASIC, or similar. The HVAC interface device mayinterface with the control electronics of the HVAC system to directlyenable or disable those system components. For example, the HVACinterface device may be configured to send command signals to the HVACequipment, such as fans, movable dampers, furnace, compressor, and thelike, to activate or deactivate the HVAC equipment. Further, the HVACinterface device may draw power from the HVAC control electronics (e.g.,24V power, such as may power a traditional thermostat wired to the HVACcontrol electronics).

In some implementations, an HVAC interface device may be wired inlinebetween a thermostat and the HVAC control electronics so that it mayintercept commands from the thermostat and pass them through or modifythem. In other implementations, the HVAC interface device may bypasscompletely or even replace a traditional thermostat.

The HVAC interface device may also include wireless data communicationcapabilities so that it may join the mesh network with other HVACbalancing and optimization system devices, such as other active controldevices and sensing devices.

In some implementations, the HVAC interface device includes one or morehardwired sensing devices or probes, which may be installed within theHVAC equipment. For example, the HVAC interface device may include ahardwired pressure sensor or probe that may be installed in the HVAC airhandler (e.g., in a manifold or plenum) to monitor pressure in the airhandler and to ensure no overpressure condition. The HVAC interfacedevice may also include a hardwired temperature sensor that may likewisebe installed in the HVAC air handler. In some implementations, a singlesensor or probe hardwired to the HVAC interface device may have theability to sense multiple conditions, such as pressure and temperature.

HVAC balancing and optimization systems described herein may alsoinclude one or more network interface devices.

For example, a network interface device may form a network bridgebetween a first communication network, such as the mesh network in whichthe HVAC balancing and optimization system components communicate, and asecond network, such as a Wi-Fi or other local area network, which mayprovide access to other external networks, such as the Internet.

A network interface device, such as a network bridge, may allow for HVACbalancing and optimization system data to be shared outside of the meshnetwork, as well as for external data to be shared with the HVACbalancing and optimization system. For example, software updates,configuration data and commands, and the like may be shared with theHVAC balancing and optimization system mesh network via the networkinterface device.

HVAC balancing and optimization systems described herein may alsoinclude one or more network extending devices.

For example, a network extending device may include a mesh networkrepeater node, which provides extended range to the mesh network so thatall devices in the HVAC balancing and optimization system are able toshare data.

HVAC balancing and optimization systems described herein may alsoinclude one or more control interface devices.

Control interface devices may include, for example, portable electronicdevices, such as a smart phone or tablet computer, configured with anapplication for accessing the HVAC balancing and optimization system.Control interface devices may also include other electronic devicesinstalled in a building, such as an in-wall control panel configuredwith an application for accessing the HVAC balancing and optimizationsystem.

Control interface devices may be configured to access settings andsensor data stored by active control devices as well as sensor datashared on the mesh network.

Further, control interface devices may be configured to provideconfiguration data, such as settings or files, to various devices in theHVAC balancing and optimization system. For example, control interfacedevices may be usable to install firmware and software updates on HVACbalancing and optimization system devices, such as active controldevices, sensing devices, network interface devices, HVAC interfacedevices, and the like.

Temperature Balancing Using the HVAC Balancing and Optimization System

Embodiments of the HVAC balancing and optimization system describedherein may be configured to interact with an HVAC system to optimizeperformance of HVAC system components (e.g., air flow settings at ventsor fluid flow settings at valves) in order balance room or zonetemperatures in a building in which the HVAC system is installed.Beneficially, embodiments of the HVAC balancing and optimization systemmay be configured to require little or no programming after installationso that lay people may easily install and enjoy the benefits of thesystem.

Once all active control devices and sensing devices of an HVAC controlsystem are installed, the HVAC balancing and optimization system mayperform an initial calibration. During the initial calibration, allactive control devices may be set to an unrestricted state (e.g.,allowing maximum air flow through a duct or vent, fluid flow through aradiator, or current flow through a heating element) for a set number ofHVAC cycles in order to learn the baseline heating and/or coolingcharacteristics of one or more rooms (or other spaces) controlled by theHVAC system. An HVAC cycle may include the starting and stopping of anyone or more components of the HVAC system in order to affect theenvironment. For example, a cooling HVAC cycle may include activating acompressor unit and a fan unit in an air handler to cause cooled air toflow to rooms controlled by the HVAC system. As another example, aheating HVAC cycle may include activating a burner/furnace and a fanunit in an air handler to cause heated air to flow to rooms controlledby the HVAC system. As yet another example, a heating cycle may includeactivating remote heating units, such as gas or electric in-floor orbaseboard heating units, mini-split units, or the like.

During each HVAC cycle, active control devices may record sensor dataprovided by local sensors as well as paired sensing devices. In someimplementations, an active control device will record (e.g., in a logfile or in a database) its local sensor data and/or the sensor datareceived from paired sensing devices. In some implementations, an activecontrol device may share the recorded sensor data, from its localsensors as well as from paired sensing devices, with other devices inthe mesh network (such as other active control devices). In this way,every active control device in the mesh network may have access to andin some cases store (e.g., within an onboard memory) all of the sensordata available in the mesh network.

Because in some implementations all active control devices maintain flowelement and sensor element data regarding themselves as well all otheractive control devices in the mesh network, adding or replacing activecontrol device is made easier. For example, a failed active controldevice may be removed, and a replacement active control device may beinstalled. The new active control device may assume the defective unit'sunique ID, or generate a new unique ID.

The HVAC balancing and optimization system may detect a new activecontrol device joining the mesh network, and initiate a baselinecalibration process. During the next few HVAC cycles, the new activecontrol device may broadcast a status indicator (e.g., “deficient log”)and begin rebuilding its own stored data logs from other active controldevices in the mesh network sharing their data.

In some implementations, the sensor data may be stored for a set timeinterval and then deleted, or stored for a set number of HVAC cycles andthen deleted.

The sensor data collected from active control devices and paired sensingdevices may be used by the active control devices to determine when andhow to change the state or condition of an active control devices flowcontrol element. For example, if the data shared by active controldevices reveals that some rooms are over-heated and other rooms areunder-heated, the active control devices may change flow settings toreduce flow (e.g., of air through a duct or vent) to the over-heatedrooms and increase flow to the under-heated rooms.

Changes made by active control devices may affect conditions of the HVACsystem, such as pressure in an air handler (e.g., in a manifold orplenum). As above, an HVAC interface device may monitor pressure withinthe air handler or manifold via hardwired sensors or probes and causeactive control devices to, for example, increase airflow at activecontrol devices where flow had been previously reduced. This may preventdamage to the HVAC system, for example, from over-pressure conditions.

Active control devices may also coordinate timing of changes so as toavoid runaway changes or oscillations in the system. For example, theactive control devices may go about adjusting flows in the order basedon which active control devices are associated with zones, rooms, orother areas that are farthest from the set temperature (e.g., at thethermostat) or the average temperature of other active control devices.

In some implementations, the set temperature for the system may beestimated by the average temperature recorded across all of the activecontrol devices and/or sensing devices. In this way, the HVAC balancingand optimization system may be completely standalone from the existingHVAC system from a control standpoint, but may nevertheless balance andoptimize the performance of the existing HVAC system.

Accordingly, data sharing among active control devices, including datafrom onboard sensors as well as paired sensing devices, allows the HVACcontrol system to tune itself so that heating and cooling become moreuniform and more efficient (e.g., by not over-heating or over-coolingcertain areas and vice versa).

Example HVAC Balancing and Optimization Systems

FIG. 1 depicts an example HVAC balancing and optimization system 100. Inthis example, several devices are depicted to demonstrate variousaspects of system 100.

Room 110 is depicted including an active control device 111 paired to asensing device 112. Note that while described as a room in this example,110 could be representative of any space or enclosure including HVACcomponents, such as air vents, floor or baseboard heating elements, orthe like.

In this example, active control device 111 includes a flow controlelement (not shown). As described above, the flow control element maycontrol an airflow, a gas flow, a fluid flow, or an electrical currentflow. In the example described in FIG. 1, the flow control element is anairflow control element configured to affect air flow through HVACducting. As an example, active control device may be one of the activecontrol devices described below, with respect to FIGS. 3A-3D, 4A-4E, and5A-5E.

Active control element 111 may also include a sensing element, which mayinclude one or more local sensors. For example, active control elementmay include temperature, humidity, and airflow sensors, or others asdescribed above.

Active control element 111 is paired to sensing device 112. Pairing ofactive control element 111 with sensing device 112 may happen via NFCpairing methods, Bluetooth pairing methods, or by use of an applicationon an electronic device, such as a smartphone. In some cases, a physicalbutton may be activated on active control element 111 and sensing device112 in order to put them in a discovery and pairing mode, such that noadditional devices are necessary to complete the pairing.

Sensing device 112 may include one or more environmental sensors, suchas described above. For example, sensing device 112 may include one ormore of: a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a proximity oroccupancy sensor, or other sensors as described above. In someimplementations, sensing device 112 is a single device with multipleintegrated sensors, which may simplify installation and setup of sensingdevice 112 within room 110. Sensing device shares sensor data withactive control device 111 via its pairing to active control device 111.

Sensing device 112 may be located remote from active control device 111in an area more representative of the conditions experienced by roomoccupants. Often HVAC outlets are placed very high in a room (e.g., inor near the ceiling) or very low in a room (e.g., in the floor or nearthe baseboard), so a sensor within the active control device may not berepresentative of the actual temperature in the zone of occupancy of agiven room.

In this example, active control device 111 and sensing device 112 areboth connected to a mesh communication network 150 represented by thebroken line arrows in FIG. 1. In some implementations, sensing device112 may instead share its sensor data with active control device 111,which may then relay that sensor data to mesh network 150. This may helpsensing device 112 preserve battery for longer run operation.

Room 120 includes two active control devices 121 and 123. For example,room 120 may be a larger room with two HVAC outlets (e.g., vents orregisters). Like room 110, room 120 includes a single sensing device122. However, unlike room 110, here sensing device 122 is paired to twoactive control devices.

For example, sensing device 122 may be in a central location in room120, between the locations of active control devices 121 and 123 (e.g.,two vents or registers), so as to provide a better indication of theconditions for room occupants.

As above, sensing device 122 is configured to share sensor data withboth active control devices 121 and 123, though in other implementationssensing device 122 may be configured to share with one or the other ofactive control devices 121 and 123.

Further as above, active control devices 121 and 123 and sensing device122 are configured to communicate in and share data with other devicesin system 100 via mesh network 150.

Room 130 includes one active control device 131 and two sensing devices132 and 133. For example, room 130 may be a room with an irregular shapeor with some other restriction that affects the ability of an HVACoutlet to evenly heat or cool the room. Thus, sensing devices 132 and133 may be distributed throughout the room in order to have a betterunderstanding of the actual conditions in room 130.

In cases where an active control device, such as 131, receives data frommultiple sensing devices, such as 132 and 133, the active control devicemay average or otherwise weight the values from each sensing device whenperforming balancing and optimization operations. This may preventover-heating or over-cooling a room when one area of the room isunevenly affected by an outside condition (such as an open window nearone of the sensing devices).

Thus, rather than being in a central location, sensing devices 132 and133 may be in different locations in room 130 meant to be representativeof the average conditions for room occupants in various differentlocations in the room.

Sensing devices 132 and 133 are configured to share sensor data withactive control devices 131. In other implementations, one of sensingdevice 132 or 133 may be paired with active control device 131 and sharedata with it, and the other sensing device may share data on wirelessmesh network 150 without sharing the data directly with active controldevice 131.

Room 140 includes four active control devices 141, 143, 145, and 147,each paired with one sensing device, 142, 144, 146, and 148,respectively. For example, room 140 may be a relatively large room, suchas a ballroom, conference room, classroom, or the like, with four HVACoutlets (e.g., vents or registers).

In this example, each of sensing devices 142, 144, 146, and 148 may beplaced in an area of influence of active control devices 141, 143, 145,and 147, respectively. For example, where active control devices 141,143, 145, and 147 control airflow through an HVAC duct, sensing devices142, 144, 146, and 148 may be placed in an area influenced by therespective HVAC air flows out of those ducts.

As above, active control devices 141, 143, 145, and 147 share data onwireless mesh network 150, which may include sensor data from localsensors (e.g., integral with each active control device) as well as frompaired sensor devices.

Each device sharing sensor data in wireless mesh network 150 maymaintain sensor data in a local data store. For example, active controldevice 111 may store sensor data and flow control element data (e.g.,position or setting data) in a local memory, such as a non-volatileflash memory. Active control device 111 may also store other activecontrol devices' shared sensor data and shared flow control elementdata. Thus, each active control device may seek to stay in datasynchronization with every other active control device in network 150.In this way, each active control device in network 150 knows the statusof every other active control device so that changes to flow settingsassociated with one active control device can be correlated with changesto other aspects of the system.

Active control devices may be configured to share data at a setinterval, such as once a second or once a minute or the like. Thisinterval may be configured to balance data flow and storage requirementswith reactivity of the system. From this data sharing, each individualactive control device can correlate flow control element data withsensor data to determine optimal flow control element settings in orderto balance conditions in rooms 110, 120, 130, and 140.

For example, rooms 110, 120, 130, and 140 may all be within a singlestructure, such as a home, and active control devices 111, 121, 123,131, 141, 143, 145, and 147 may all share data and adjust theirrespective control flow elements to balance temperature in each room. Inthis way, the HVAC system (not shown) may operate most effectively (interms of reaching target temperatures in each room) and most efficiently(e.g., by avoiding over-heating and over-cooling of any given room).

Though the active control devices in rooms 110, 120, 130, and 140 aredescribed above as controlling the flow of air from HVAC outlets (e.g.,vents or registers), in other implementations, active control devices inrooms 110, 120, 130, and 140 may control other types of flows, such asflows of electricity to electric heating elements, fluid flows toradiators, and the like.

Moreover, the active control devices in rooms 110, 120, 130, and 140 maybe different types (i.e., they need not all be the same to participatein mesh network 150). For example, active control devices in some roomsmany control airflow through forced air HVAC outlets, while activecontrol devices in other rooms may control current flow to electricheating elements. Indeed, even within a single room, active controldevices may be of mixed type. This allows significant flexibility indesign and control of an HVAC system. For example, an electric baseboardheater may be added to a room with insufficient forced air heating andcontrolled as part of system 100. Many other configurations arepossible. In general, the active control devices may be agnostic totheir type because they are only aware of the relationship between theirflow control elements and the sensed data from their local and pairedsensing devices.

As depicted in FIG. 1, HVAC balancing and optimization system 100 mayact completely independently of any centralized network and controlstructure. For example, system 100 creates an ad-hoc mesh network 150without the need for any common routing or switching network equipment.Similarly, system 100 works without any hub or other sort of centralizedcontroller and without any remote application service. Rather, thedevices within system 100 self-organize and self-regulate based onshared data in the network. In this way, system 100 can be installedalongside existing HVAC systems without any regard for the type of HVACsystem, its configuration, or the like. In fact, system 100 may operatewithout any other existing network infrastructure, so it is suitable forany structure regardless of the availability of network connectivity.

FIG. 2 depicts additional optional aspects of an HVAC balancing andoptimization system. The components depicted in FIG. 2 are not necessaryfor an HVAC balancing and optimization system, such as described withrespect to FIG. 1, but may add additional functionality to such asystem.

For example, network adapter 210 provides a bridge from the mesh networkto a second wireless network protocol, such as an 802.11 (e.g., Wi-Fi)network. As such, network adapter 210 provides a means for data from themesh network of system 100 to be shared outside of the mesh network, andlikewise for data from outside the mesh network of system 100 to beshared within the mesh network. The second network may have accessthrough a gateway 262 to an external wide area network, such as theInternet 263. In this way, data from system 100 may be shared toexternal storage and processing devices, such as cloud storage and cloudprocessing services.

Network adapter 210 may also provide a way for external data to beshared with system 100. For example, local weather data gathered frominternet sites may be provided to system 100, which may be used byactive control devices to modify operational parameters. For example,the amount of heating airflow may be increased to account for severelycold weather.

Electronic device 202 may be configured to run an application forsharing data with aspects of system 100 as well as the additionalaspects depicted in FIG. 2. For example, electronic device 202 may be aportable electronic device, such as a smartphone or tablet computer, oranother sort of electronic device, smart speaker, or other smart deviceor appliance. Electronic device 202 may utilize the application toprovide data, configurations, settings files, software, firmware, andthe like to aspects of system 100 via its connection to the mesh networkand/or through network interface 210 (e.g., if electronic device 202 isonly connected to a local area network instead of the mesh network ofsystem 100). For example, electronic device 202 may be used to loadconfiguration settings into various active control devices, or to setlimits, alarms, or other sorts of operational parameters.

Notably, configuration of devices in system 100 via electronic device202 is not required, but is rather an option to provide additionalcontrol and capability of specific devices in system 100. In some cases,electronic device 202 may directly connect to individual devices, suchas individual active control devices, via a wireless data connection,such as Bluetooth.

Electronic device 202 may utilize its own networking capability toconnect to the mesh network (e.g., via a Bluetooth or Wi-Fi chipset) andmay also connect directly to the second network (e.g., a Wi-Fi network)for access to the Internet 263 by way of gateway 262. Further yet,electronic device 202 may have additional wireless communicationcapabilities, such as cellular, to directly access Internet 263.

Once connected with system 100 via a suitable data connection,electronic device 202 may provide configuration data, such as room name,room dimensions, numbers of doorways or windows in the room, aspectsregarding the windows (e.g., double or single paned), aspects regardingthe building (e.g., type of insulation, build date, build material,etc.) relative distance from HVAC equipment 250 (e.g., using a scalesuch as 1-5), relative or actual temperature offset compared to otherrooms, number of windows in a given room, and other characteristics thatmay affect the environment in a room.

Network extender 230 extends the range of the mesh network of system 100to additional devices that may not otherwise be in range. For example,network extender 230 allows system 100 to connect with active controldevice 241 and sensing device 242 in room 240, which may be separatedfrom rooms in system 100 by a significant distance, or may even be in acompletely separate structure. Note that while room 240 is not shownwithin the ring of system 100, it may be considered part of system 100by virtue of its connection to the mesh network of system 100.

System interface device 220 may be another electronic device, such as awall-mounted tablet or another smart home device (e.g., an AMAZONALEXA®), that has a display screen (e.g., a touchscreen) and provides agraphical user interface to present data regarding system 100, as wellas other aspects depicted in FIG. 2. For example, by joining the meshnetwork described with respect to FIG. 1, system interface device 220gains access to all shared data in the network, including position orsetting data associated with active control devices' flow controlelements as well as sensor data (e.g., temperature, humidity, airquality, and others) associated with active control devices' localsensors and paired sensing devices.

Further, like electronic device 202, system interface device 220 mayallow for a user to interact with and provide settings and otherparameters to various aspects of system 100, such as providing for flowcontrol limits, overrides, and the like. In some cases, system interfacedevice 220 may have on-board memory for recording data shared on themesh network of system 100. In some cases, the memory may be removable,such as a removable SD card, so that the data may be analyzed on adifferent processing system.

System interface device 202 may further provide a software integrationplatform for system 100 to share data with other smart home systems,such as existing home automation systems.

In some implementations, system interface device 220 may take the placeof or bypass a thermostat, such as thermostat 261. For example, systeminterface device 220 may interface directly via wired connection or viawireless connection to an HVAC interface module 251, as depicted in theexample of FIG. 2.

HVAC interface module 251 may interface directly with the controlelectronics of an existing HVAC system 250. Thus, HVAC interface module251 may be able to activate various components of existing HVAC system250, such as furnace 253 and air conditioner 254, as well as report thestatus of the various components of existing HVAC system 250 back toother aspects of the HVAC balancing and optimization system (e.g.,system 100).

HVAC interface module 251 also includes a hardwired sensing probe 252,which may include one or more sensing elements, such as temperature andpressure.

As depicted in FIG. 2, sensing probe 252 may be installed directlywithin the existing HVAC equipment, such as in the air handler,manifold, or plenum near HVAC system 250's fan (not depicted). In thisway, interface module 251 can monitor performance of HVAC system 250 aswell as to protect existing HVAC system 250 from dangerous conditions,such as overpressure.

For example, if active control devices within system 100 (in thisexample, airflow control devices) restrict airflow too significantlywhile the fan of existing HVAC system 250 is running, pressure may buildup in the air handler (or plenum or manifold) and cause damage to thefan, the ducting, the seals between various HVAC elements, and othercomponents of HVAC system 250. Because HVAC interface module 251 isconnected to the mesh network and/or system interface device 220, whichis connected to the mesh network, HVAC interface module 251 may sendoverride commands to active control devices connected to the meshnetwork (e.g., in system 100) to reduce flow restriction so as to reducepressure in the HVAC air handler.

Because HVAC interface module 251 is directly interfaced with HVACsystem 250, it may draw power from HVAC system 250, such as 24V power.Further, sensing probe 252 may draw power from HVAC interface module 251by way of existing HVAC system 250's power.

HVAC interface module 251 may also be connected inline betweenthermostat 261 and existing HVAC system 250. In this way, HVAC interfacemodule 251 may intercept commands from thermostat 261, modify or passthrough those commands, or even totally bypass thermostat 261. In someexamples, HVAC interface module 251 may receive set temperature datafrom thermostat 261 and provide that data to other aspects of system100.

Example Active Control Devices

FIGS. 3A-3D depict different views of one example of an active controldevice 300. In this example, active control device 300 is configured tofit within HVAC ducting that has a circular cross-section and controlthe air flow through the ducting.

Active control device 300 includes flow control element 306 (shown inFIG. 3D) which rotates about an axis 310 (shown in FIG. 3D) runningthrough the center of active control device 300 in order to open orclose the air flow channels 304 disposed in the body 302 of activecontrol device 300.

FIG. 3B depicts a view down axis 310 (shown in FIG. 3D), which shows theplurality of air flow channels 304. As flow control element 306 isrotated around the inside of body 302, air flow channels 304 close offso as to limit the flow of air through active control device 300.

FIG. 3C depicts a side view of active control device 300 showing thedirection of airflow 308 through active control device 300, for example,as motivated by an upstream HVAC fan. While the direction of airflowgenerally stays the same, the amount of airflow through active controldevice 300 will change significantly based on how open or closed airflow channels 304 are based on the position of flow control element 306.

FIG. 3D depicts an isometric view of active control device 300. Flowcontrol element 306 is depicted inside of body 302 and configured torotate about axis 310 in order to adjustably open and close air flowchannels 304. Flow control element 306 may be moved by any suitablemeans, such as by a servo, small motor, moveable mechanical linkage, orthe like. In this example, flow control element 306 substantiallymatches the contour of the curved portion of body 302 and has matchingair flow channels that may be either aligned with the flow channels inbody 302 or moved to block those channels, thereby controlling the flowthrough active control device 300.

In this example, active control device 300 includes a fan 312 that maybe used to harvest energy from forced airflow. The harvested energy maybe used to charge a power storage device, such as a battery or capacitor(not shown), which is used to power various electrical components ofactive control device 300 (not shown).

As described above, active control device 300 may include electricalcomponents, such as a processor for running software configured tocontrol the action of active control device 300 within an HVAC balancingand optimization system. The electrical components may also include acommunication device, such as a chip enabling communication betweenactive control device 300 and other devices within an HVAC balancing andoptimization system mesh network.

The electrical components may further include one or more local sensingelements, such as described above. In this particular example, fan 312may act as both a power generator and an airflow sensor (based on thespeed of the fan as air passes by it and motivates the blades). Thoughnot depicted in FIG. 3D, in some implementations, the power storagedevice and certain electrical components may be located in a cylindricalenclosure (320 shown in FIG. 3B) running along axis 310 between fan 312and the output side of body 302.

In this example, fan 312 includes a fan shroud 314, which increases theeffectiveness of the fan at capturing airflow and generating power.Further in this example, the shroud is supported by aerodynamic supportelements 316, which are in-turn connected to an inner, static surface318 of active control device 300.

Though not depicted in FIG. 3D, sensing elements may be integrated intoor attached to elements of active control device 300, such as supportelements 316, shroud 314, and inner surface 318.

FIGS. 4A-4E depict different views of another example of an activecontrol device 400. In this example, active control device 400 isconfigured to fit within an HVAC outlet duct, which has a rectangularcross-section, such as are regularly used in both commercial andresidential buildings.

FIG. 4A depicts an isometric view of active control device 400 with awall mount flange 412 connected to a body portion 402.

Active control device 400 also includes a power storage device andelectronics housing 416. The power storage device and electronics inhousing 416 are used to control the flow control element 406, whichrotates about axis 410 in order to control flow through flow channels404 (e.g., in FIG. 4D).

FIG. 4B shows a cross-sectional view along the line A-A in FIG. 4C. Asshown in FIG. 4B, flow control element 406 (shown in FIG. 4B) moves inthe directions of arrow 414 in order to affect airflow 408 from the ductside to the room side of active control device 400.

FIG. 4D depicts the example air flow channels 404, which may beselectively opened or closed by rotating flow control element 406.

FIG. 4E depicts an example of a removable module 416 that may includeenclosure 418 as well as a fan in some implementations. As depicted inFIG. 4E, module 416 may be equipped with a fan 412 that may be used toharvest energy from forced airflow. The harvested energy may be used tooperate the control electronics as well as to charge the power storagedevice, such as a battery or capacitor (not shown), stored in enclosure418. Thus, module 416 shown in FIG. 4E with fan 412 is an alternative tomodule 416 in FIG. 4A, which does not have a fan. The removable andreplaceable modules may allow for easy servicing of active controldevice 400 as well as easy upgrading of components and capabilities.

As described above, active control device 400 may include electricalcomponents, such as a processor for running software configured tocontrol the action of active control device 400 within an HVAC balancingand optimization system (such as described below with respect to FIG.7A). The electrical components may also include a communication device,such as a chip enabling communication with the HVAC balancing andoptimization system mesh network. The electrical components may furtherinclude one or more local sensing elements, such as described above. Inthis particular example, fan 412 may act as both a power generator andan airflow sensor (based on the speed of the fan as air passes by it andmotivates the blades).

Though not depicted in FIGS. 4A-4E, sensing elements (other than fan412) may be integrated into or attached to elements of active controldevice 400. For example, temperature and/or pressure sensors may beintegrated to measure characteristics of the airflow 408 as it passesthrough active control device 400.

FIGS. 5A-5E depict different views of another example of an activecontrol device 500. In this example, active control device 500 isconfigured to fit within a rectangular HVAC duct. For example, activecontrol device 500 could be used in a rectangular outlet, such as behinda traditional outlet cover or register, or within other transportducting (with rectangular cross-section) throughout a building.

FIG. 5A depicts active control device 500 with a rectangular bodyportion 502 as well as a plurality of flow control elements 506, whichare discussed below in more detail with respect to FIG. 5D. In thisexample, active control device 500 includes an enclosure 516, which mayenclose a power storage device (e.g., a battery) as well as controlelectronics (such as described below with respect to FIG. 7A). Forexample, enclosure 516 may include a processor for running softwareconfigured to control the action of active control device 500 within anHVAC balancing and optimization system, such the systems described abovewith respect to FIGS. 1 and 2. The electrical components may alsoinclude a communication device, such as a chip enabling communicationwith the HVAC balancing and optimization system mesh network. Theelectrical components may further include one or more local sensingelements, such as described above.

FIG. 5B depicts a side-view of active control device 500. FIG. 5Cdepicts a front view of active control device 500, which depicts theairflow channels 504, which may be restricted by flow control element506.

FIG. 5D shows three different cross-sectional views of active controldevice 500 along the line A-A shown in FIG. 5C. In particular, FIG. 5Ddepicts flow control element 506 in three different states: 506 a, 506b, and 506 c. In this example, flow control element 506 includes aplurality of folded elements that can be moved along the direction ofarrows 510. As a control element is moved in one direction, the foldedelements unfold and therefore restrict more of the flow channels 504.So, for example, flow control element 506 a is in a fullyfolded/unrestricted position such that air may flow freely through flowchannels 504. Flow control element 506 b is in a partiallyunfolded/partially restricted position, such that air can still flowthrough flow channels 504, but at a reduced rate. Finally, flow controlelement 506 c is in a fully unfolded/fully restricted position, suchthat air flow through flow channels 504 is minimized or completelystopped.

FIG. 5E depicts a top view of active control device 500, which shows thedirection of airflow 508 through active control device 500.

The example active control devices depicted in FIGS. 3A-3D, 4A-4E, and5A-5E may be constructed from a variety of materials, such as plastics,plastic and fiberglass composites, carbon composites, metals, metalalloys, and others. Generally, the material is preferably resistant to awide range of temperatures and humidity levels. In some cases, aspectsof the active control devices may be 3D printed in order to use morecomplex geometries to improve airflow and noise characteristics.

Example Method

FIG. 6 depicts an example method 600 that may be performed by an activecontrol device, such as those described herein.

Method 600 begins at step 602 with receiving local sensor data from oneor more sensors integral with the active control device. For example,the sensors can include temperature sensors, pressure sensors, humiditysensors, air quality sensors, volatile organic compound sensors, ortoxic substance sensors (e.g., carbon monoxide sensors, carbon dioxidesensors, and radon gas sensors), flammable gas sensors (e.g., propane,methane, and natural gas), and others.

Method 600 then proceeds to step 604 with receiving remote sensor datafrom a remote sensing device. For example, the active control device mayreceive remote sensor date from a paired sensing device or from othersensing devices within a mesh network, as described above with respectto FIG. 2.

Method 600 then proceeds to step 606 with controlling a position of theflow control element based on one or more of the local sensor data orthe remote sensor data. For example, the flow control element may bemoved or rotated in a first direction to increase a flow (e.g., of airor fluid) through the active control device, or moved or rotated in asecond direction to decrease the flow through the active control device.

Method 600 then proceeds to step 608 with storing the local sensor dataand remote sensor data in the memory. For example, as described above,the sensor data may be stored in a repository, such as a log, table,database, or the like, which allows the active control device to analyzeconditions in many areas of a building instead of only at the particularactive control device.

Method 600 then proceeds to step 610 with transmitting the local sensordata and the remote sensor data to a second active control device viathe mesh network. For example, as described above, the local sensor data(e.g., from the first active control device's own sensors) and theremote sensor data (e.g., from a sensing devices paired to the firstactive control device) may be shared with other devices within the meshnetwork.

Though not depicted in FIG. 6, method 600 may further comprise receivingsensor data from the second active control device via the mesh network;store the sensor data from the second active control device in thememory of the first active control device; and control the position ofthe flow control element based on sensor data from the second activecontrol device.

Method 600 may further comprise entering a pairing mode when a physicalpairing button is pressed; and pairing with a remote sensing device.Alternatively, method 600 may further comprise receiving a command froma remote electronic device to enter a pairing mode; and pairing with aremote sensing device. For example, the remote electronic device may berunning an application configured to interface with the system, asdescribed above with respect to FIG. 2.

Example Active Control Device System and Sensing Device System

FIG. 7A depicts an example active control device system diagram. In thisexample, active control device 700 includes a processor 702, which maybe representative of one or more processors of any sort. In someexamples, processor 702 may be a microcontroller.

Processor 702 is configured to receive data from sensors 704 and executecomputer-executable instructions stored in memory 710.

Processor 702 is further configured to share data with a network, suchas the mesh network described above with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2, vianetwork interface 706. In some implementations, network interface 706may be a Bluetooth network interface.

Processor 702 is further configured to control flow control element 708,such as described above. For example, flow control element may beconfigured to change the position of flow control elements as discussedabove with respect to FIGS. 3A-3D, 4A-4E, and 5A-5E. In someimplementations, flow control element 708 include a motor, servo,actuator, or other device capable of causing movement of a flow controlelement in an active control device.

Active control device 700 may include a generator 712, such as agenerator fan, solar power generator, heat conversion generator, or thelike. Generator may store power in power storage device 714, which maypower processor 702, sensors 704, network interface 706, flow controlelement 708, and memory 710. As described above, in some cases,generator 712 may also be used as a sensor, such as an airflow sensor.

Power storage device 714 may include one or more batteries, capacitors,or other electrical storage devices.

FIG. 7B depicts an example sensing device system diagram.

In this example, sensing device 750 includes a processor 752, which maybe representative of one or more processors of any sort. In someexamples, processor 752 may be a microcontroller.

Processor 752 is configured to receive data from sensors 754 and executecomputer-executable instructions stored in memory 758.

Processor 752 is further configured to share data with a network, suchas the mesh network described above with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2, vianetwork interface 756. For example, sensing device 750 may be paired toand share data with active control device 700 of FIG. 7A. In someimplementations, network interface 756 may be a Bluetooth networkinterface.

Sensing device 752 may further include power storage device 760, whichmay power processor 702, sensors 704, network interface 706, and memory710. In some implementations, power storage device 760 may include oneor more batteries, capacitors, or other electrical storage devices.

Example System Implementations

In one example, a system includes a first active control device,comprising: a flow control element; one or more sensors; a networkinterface configured to connect to a mesh network; a memory comprisingcomputer-executable instructions; and a processor configured to:

execute the computer-executable instructions; receive local sensor datafrom the one or more sensors; receive remote sensor data from a remotesensing device; control a position of the flow control element based onone or more of the local sensor data or the remote sensor data; storethe local sensor data and remote sensor data in the memory; and transmitthe local sensor data and the remote sensor data to a second activecontrol device via the mesh network.

In some implementations, the processor of the first active controldevice is further configured to: receive sensor data from the secondactive control device via the mesh network; store the sensor data fromthe second active control device in the memory of the first activecontrol device; and control the position of the flow control elementbased on sensor data from the second active control device.

In some implementations, the one or more sensors comprise a temperaturesensor and a pressure sensor, or any other sensor as described herein.

In some implementations, the first active control device furthercomprises: a power generator; and a power storage device configured tostore power generated by the power generator. In some implementations,the power generator comprises a fan, for example, as described abovewith respect to FIGS. 3B and 4E.

In some implementations, the first active control device is configuredto be installed into an HVAC duct having a circular cross-section andthe first active control device further comprises: a body comprising aplurality of air flow channels; and a flow control element fitted withina portion of the body and configured to rotate within the body tocontrol exposure of the plurality of air flow channels to airflow in theHVAC duct, such as described above with respect to FIGS. 3A-3D.

In some implementations, the first active control device is configuredto be installed into an HVAC duct having a rectangular cross-section,and the first active control device further comprises: a body comprisinga plurality of air flow channels; and a flow control element fittedwithin a portion of the body and configured to rotate within the body tocontrol exposure of the plurality of air flow channels to airflow in theHVAC duct, such as described above with respect to FIGS. 4A-4E.

In some implementations, the first active control device is configuredto be installed into an HVAC duct having a rectangular cross-section,and the first active control device further comprises: a body comprisinga plurality of air flow channels; and a plurality of foldable flowcontrol element fitted within the body and configured to fold within thebody to control exposure of the plurality of air flow channels toairflow in the HVAC duct, such as described above with respect to FIGS.5A-5E.

In some implementations, the system further includes the remote sensingdevice, which comprises: a sensor; a network interface configured toconnect to a mesh network; a memory comprising computer-executableinstructions; and a processor configured to: execute thecomputer-executable instructions; receive local sensor data from thesensor; and transmit the local sensor data to the first active controldevice via the mesh network.

In some implementations, the system further includes an HVAC interfacemodule comprising: an HVAC control board connector configured to beconnected to an HVAC control board of an HVAC system; a wired sensingprobe configured to be installed within a plenum of the HVAC system; anetwork interface configured to connect to the mesh network; and aprocessor configured to: receive probe sensor data from the wiredsensing probe; and transmit one or more parameters to the first activecontrol device via the mesh network based on the probe sensor data.

The one or more parameter may comprise, for example, data interpretableby the active control devices to change the position of the flow controlelement to change amount of flow through the active control device. Inone example, a parameter may call for increasing flow by a certainpercentage, or increasing flow to maximum, as just two examples. Becausethe active control devices are able to act autonomously based on systemdate, the parameters from the HVAC interface module may act as justanother data input to the control logic for the active control device.

In some implementations, the wired sensing probe comprises a pressuresensor and a temperature sensor.

In some implementations, the processor of the HVAC interface module isconfigured to transmit the one or more parameters to the first activecontrol device via the mesh network when the probe sensor data indicatesa pressure over a threshold pressure.

In some implementations, the one or more parameters cause the firstactive control device to change the position of the flow control elementto allow more airflow through the first active control device.

In some implementations, the processor of the HVAC interface module isconnected in-line between the HVAC control board of the HVAC system anda thermostat, such as described above with respect to FIG. 2.

In some implementations, the processor of the HVAC interface module isfurther configured to: receive control signals from the thermostat; andrelay the control signals to the HVAC control board.

In some implementations, the HVAC interface module is configured tobypass the thermostat.

In some implementations, the HVAC interface module is configured toreceive power from the HVAC control board of the HVAC system via theHVAC control board connector. The connector could be any sort ofelectrical connector as are known for providing an electrical connectionbetween a first device and a second device.

In some implementations, the first active control device furthercomprises a physical pairing button, and the processor of the firstactive control device is further configured to: enter a pairing modewhen the physical pairing button is pressed; and pair with the remotesensing device.

In some implementations, the processor of the first active controldevice is further configured to: receive a command from a remoteelectronic device to enter a pairing mode; and pair with the remotesensing device. For example, the remote electronic device could be asdescribed above with respect to FIG. 2.

In some implementations, the system further includes a system interfacedevice, comprising: a display screen; a network interface configured toconnect to the mesh network; a memory comprising computer-executableinstructions; and a processor configured to: execute thecomputer-executable instructions; receive local sensor data from thefirst active control device; receive flow control element position datafrom the first active control device; receive probe sensor data from theHVAC interface module; and display the local sensor data, flow controlelement position data, and probe sensor data on the display screen.

Other Considerations

The preceding description is provided to enable any person skilled inthe art to practice the various embodiments described herein. Theexamples discussed herein are not limiting of the scope, applicability,or embodiments set forth in the claims. Various modifications to theseembodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, andthe generic principles defined herein may be applied to otherembodiments. For example, changes may be made in the function andarrangement of elements discussed without departing from the scope ofthe disclosure. Various examples may omit, substitute, or add variousprocedures or components as appropriate. For instance, the methodsdescribed may be performed in an order different from that described,and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. Also, featuresdescribed with respect to some examples may be combined in some otherexamples. For example, an apparatus may be implemented or a method maybe practiced using any number of the aspects set forth herein. Inaddition, the scope of the disclosure is intended to cover such anapparatus or method that is practiced using other structure,functionality, or structure and functionality in addition to, or otherthan, the various aspects of the disclosure set forth herein. It shouldbe understood that any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein may beembodied by one or more elements of a claim.

As used herein, the word “exemplary” means “serving as an example,instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary”is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous overother aspects.

As used herein, a phrase referring to “at least one of” a list of itemsrefers to any combination of those items, including single members. Asan example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intended to cover a, b, c,a-b, a-c, b-c, and a-b-c, as well as any combination with multiples ofthe same element (e.g., a-a, a-a-a, a-a-b, a-a-c, a-b-b, a-c-c, b-b,b-b-b, b-b-c, c-c, and c-c-c or any other ordering of a, b, and c).

As used herein, the term “determining” encompasses a wide variety ofactions. For example, “determining” may include calculating, computing,processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (e.g., looking up in atable, a database or another data structure), ascertaining and the like.Also, “determining” may include receiving (e.g., receiving information),accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory) and the like. Also,“determining” may include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishingand the like.

The methods disclosed herein comprise one or more steps or actions forachieving the methods. The method steps and/or actions may beinterchanged with one another without departing from the scope of theclaims. In other words, unless a specific order of steps or actions isspecified, the order and/or use of specific steps and/or actions may bemodified without departing from the scope of the claims. Further, thevarious operations of methods described above may be performed by anysuitable means capable of performing the corresponding functions. Themeans may include various hardware and/or software component(s) and/ormodule(s), including, but not limited to a circuit, an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC), or processor. Generally, where thereare operations illustrated in figures, those operations may havecorresponding counterpart means-plus-function components with similarnumbering.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules and circuits describedin connection with the present disclosure may be implemented orperformed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor(DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device (PLD),discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or anycombination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein.A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in thealternative, the processor may be any commercially available processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration.

A processing system may be implemented with a bus architecture. The busmay include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges depending onthe specific application of the processing system and the overall designconstraints. The bus may link together various circuits including aprocessor, machine-readable media, and input/output devices, amongothers. A user interface (e.g., keypad, display, mouse, joystick, etc.)may also be connected to the bus. The bus may also link various othercircuits such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, powermanagement circuits, and other circuit elements that are well known inthe art, and therefore, will not be described any further. The processormay be implemented with one or more general-purpose and/orspecial-purpose processors. Examples include microprocessors,microcontrollers, DSP processors, and other circuitry that can executesoftware. Those skilled in the art will recognize how best to implementthe described functionality for the processing system depending on theparticular application and the overall design constraints imposed on theoverall system.

If implemented in software, the functions may be stored or transmittedover as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium.Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, data, or anycombination thereof, whether referred to as software, firmware,middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.Computer-readable media include both computer storage media andcommunication media, such as any medium that facilitates transfer of acomputer program from one place to another.

The processor may be responsible for managing the bus and generalprocessing, including the execution of software modules stored on thecomputer-readable storage media.

A computer-readable storage medium may be coupled to a processor suchthat the processor can read information from, and write information to,the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may beintegral to the processor.

By way of example, the computer-readable media may include atransmission line, a carrier wave modulated by data, and/or a computerreadable storage medium with instructions stored thereon separate fromthe wireless node, all of which may be accessed by the processor throughthe bus interface. Alternatively, or in addition, the computer-readablemedia, or any portion thereof, may be integrated into the processor,such as the case may be with cache and/or general register files.Examples of machine-readable storage media may include, by way ofexample, RAM (Random Access Memory), flash memory, ROM (Read OnlyMemory), PROM (Programmable Read-Only Memory), EPROM (ErasableProgrammable Read-Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically ErasableProgrammable Read-Only Memory), registers, magnetic disks, opticaldisks, hard drives, or any other suitable storage medium, or anycombination thereof. The machine-readable media may be embodied in acomputer-program product.

A software module may comprise a single instruction, or manyinstructions, and may be distributed over several different codesegments, among different programs, and across multiple storage media.The computer-readable media may comprise a number of software modules.The software modules include instructions that, when executed by anapparatus such as a processor, cause the processing system to performvarious functions. The software modules may include a transmissionmodule and a receiving module. Each software module may reside in asingle storage device or be distributed across multiple storage devices.By way of example, a software module may be loaded into RAM from a harddrive when a triggering event occurs. During execution of the softwaremodule, the processor may load some of the instructions into cache toincrease access speed. One or more cache lines may then be loaded into ageneral register file for execution by the processor. When referring tothe functionality of a software module, it will be understood that suchfunctionality is implemented by the processor when executinginstructions from that software module.

The following claims are not intended to be limited to the embodimentsshown herein, but are to be accorded the full scope consistent with thelanguage of the claims. Within a claim, reference to an element in thesingular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specificallyso stated, but rather “one or more.” Unless specifically statedotherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. No claim element is tobe construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) unless theelement is expressly recited using the phrase “means for” or, in thecase of a method claim, the element is recited using the phrase “stepfor.” All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of thevarious aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known orlater come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art areexpressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to beencompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein isintended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether suchdisclosure is explicitly recited in the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: a first active controldevice, comprising: an air flow control element; one or more activecontrol device sensors; an active control device network interfaceconfigured to connect to a mesh network; a physical pairing button; anactive control device memory comprising computer-executableinstructions; and an active control device processor configured to:execute the computer-executable instructions; receive active controldevice sensor data from the one or more active control device sensors;receive remote sensing device sensor data from a remote sensing device,wherein the remote sensing device is not an active control device;control a position of the air flow control element based on one or moreof the active control device sensor data or the remote sensing devicesensor data; store the active control device sensor data and remotesensing device sensor data in the active control device memory; andtransmit the active control device sensor data and the remote sensingdevice sensor data to a second active control device via the activecontrol device network interface to the mesh network; and the remotesensing device, comprising: a remote sensing device sensor; a remotesensing device network interface configured to connect to the meshnetwork; a remote sensing device memory comprising computer-executableinstructions; and a remote sensing device processor configured toexecute the computer-executable instructions and cause the remotesensing device to: receive remote sensing device sensor data from theremote sensing device sensor; and transmit the remote sensing devicesensor data to the first active control device via the remote sensingdevice network interface to the mesh network.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein the active control device processor is further configured to:receive active control device sensor data from the second active controldevice via the active control device network interface to the meshnetwork; store the active control device sensor data from the secondactive control device in the active control device memory of the firstactive control device; and control the position of the air flow controlelement further based on the active control device sensor data from thesecond active control device.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the oneor more active control device sensors comprise a temperature sensor anda pressure sensor.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the first activecontrol device further comprises: a power generator; and a power storagedevice configured to store power generated by the power generator. 5.The system of claim 4, wherein the power generator comprises a fan. 6.The system of claim 1, wherein: the first active control device isconfigured to be installed into an HVAC duct having a circularcross-section, and the first active control device further comprises: abody comprising a plurality of air flow channels, wherein the air flowcontrol element is fitted within a portion of the body and configured torotate within the body to control exposure of the plurality of air flowchannels to air flow in the HVAC duct.
 7. The system of claim 1,wherein: the first active control device is configured to be installedinto an HVAC duct having a rectangular cross-section, and the firstactive control device further comprises: a body comprising a pluralityof air flow channels, wherein the air flow control element is fittedwithin a portion of the body and configured to rotate within the body tocontrol exposure of the plurality of air flow channels to air flow inthe HVAC duct.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein: the first activecontrol device is configured to be installed into an HVAC duct having arectangular cross-section, and the first active control device furthercomprises: a body comprising a plurality of air flow channels, whereinthe air flow control element comprises a plurality of foldable air flowcontrol elements fitted within the body and configured to fold withinthe body to control exposure of the plurality of air flow channels toair flow in the HVAC duct.
 9. The system of claim 1, further comprising:an HVAC interface module comprising: a wired sensing probe configured tobe installed within a plenum of an HVAC system; an HVAC interface modulenetwork interface configured to connect to the mesh network; and an HVACinterface module processor configured to: receive probe sensor data fromthe wired sensing probe; and transmit one or more parameters to thefirst active control device via the HVAC interface module networkinterface to mesh network based on the probe sensor data.
 10. The systemof claim 9, wherein the wired sensing probe comprises a pressure sensorand a temperature sensor.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the HVACinterface module processor is further configured to transmit the one ormore parameters to the first active control device via the mesh networkwhen the probe sensor data indicates a pressure over a thresholdpressure.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the active control deviceprocessor is further configured to receive the one or more parametersand cause the air flow control element to change position to allow moreair flow through the first active control device.
 13. The system ofclaim 10, further comprising: a system interface device, comprising: adisplay screen; a system interface device network interface configuredto connect to the mesh network; a system interface device memorycomprising computer-executable instructions; and a system interfacedevice processor configured to: execute the computer-executableinstructions; receive active control device sensor data from the firstactive control device; receive air flow control element position datafrom the first active control device; receive probe sensor data from theHVAC interface module; and display the active control device sensordata, the air flow control element position data, and the probe sensordata on the display screen.
 14. The system of claim 9, wherein the HVACinterface module processor is configured to be connected in-line betweenthe HVAC system and a thermostat.
 15. The system of claim 14, whereinthe HVAC interface module processor is further configured to: receivecontrol signals from the thermostat; and relay the control signals tothe HVAC system.
 16. The system of claim 14, wherein the HVAC interfacemodule is configured to bypass the thermostat.
 17. The system of claim9, wherein the HVAC interface module is configured to receive power fromthe HVAC system.
 18. The system of claim 1, wherein the active controldevice processor of the first active control device is furtherconfigured to: enter a pairing mode when the physical pairing button ispressed; and pair with the remote sensing device.
 19. The system ofclaim 1, wherein: the active control device processor of the firstactive control device is further configured to: receive a command from aremote electronic device to enter a pairing mode; and pair with theremote sensing device.
 20. An active control device, comprising: an airflow control element; one or more active control device sensors; aphysical pairing button, and an active control device network interfaceconfigured to connect to a mesh network; an active control device memorycomprising computer-executable instructions; and an active controldevice processor configured to: execute the computer-executableinstructions; receive active control device sensor data from the one ormore active control device sensors; receive remote sensing device sensordata from a remote sensing device, wherein the remote sensing device isnot an active control device; control a position of the air flow controlelement based on one or more of the active control device sensor data orthe remote sensing device sensor data; store the active control devicesensor data and remote sensing device sensor data in the active controldevice memory; and transmit the active control device sensor data andthe remote sensing device sensor data to a second active control devicevia the active control device network interface to the mesh network; andenter a pairing mode when the physical pairing button is pressed.